Squeeze Play
You’re in 6NT, down to the last few tricks, and you need one more winner than you actually have. Sounds hopeless, right? Not if you can execute a squeeze.
A squeeze forces an opponent to discard a winner because they can’t hold on to everything. They’re stuck. If they pitch one suit, you win tricks there. If they pitch another, you win there instead. The defense is cooked.
Squeezes look magical when they work. But they’re not luck or genius. They follow specific patterns you can learn to recognize and execute.
What Is a Squeeze?
A squeeze happens when you run winning cards and force an opponent into an impossible discard. They’re guarding two suits (or sometimes more), and when you cash your “squeeze card,” they have to let one suit go.
Here’s the basic situation: Your right-hand opponent holds the ♥K and the ♠K. You hold the ♥Q and ♠Q behind them, plus a long suit to run. When you cash that last club winner, they’re toast. Pitch the ♥K? Your ♥Q is good. Pitch the ♠K? Your ♠Q takes a trick.
That’s the essence of it. You’re not creating tricks from nothing. You’re forcing the defense to give up what they’re trying to protect.
The Three Essential Elements
Every squeeze needs three things. Miss one, and it doesn’t work.
The squeeze card: This is the card that applies the pressure. Usually it’s your last winner in a long suit. When you lead it, the opponent has to make their fatal discard before you do.
Menace cards: These are your potential winners in the suits the opponent is guarding. The opponent holds a higher card, but if they pitch it, your menace becomes a winner. You need menaces in at least two suits.
Entry and timing: You need a way to reach the menace that becomes good. And you need to be at the right trick count. Most squeezes work when you’re one trick short of your contract. Cash too many winners early, and you’ve given the defense pitching room. Play the squeeze card too soon, and they’re not under pressure yet.
The Simple Squeeze Position
Let’s look at the most common squeeze: the simple squeeze. One opponent guards two suits, and you’ve got menaces positioned to punish them.
Here’s a classic three-card ending. You’re South in 6NT, needing all three tricks:
North
♠ A
♥ —
♦ 3
♣ —
West East
♠ K J ♠ 5 4
♥ — ♥ Q
♦ — ♦ —
♣ — ♣ —
South
♠ Q
♥ 2
♦ —
♣ AYou lead the ♣A (your squeeze card). West is squeezed. If they pitch a spade, you cash the ♠Q and then the ♠A. If they pitch the ♦3… wait, that’s in dummy. Let me fix this:
North
♠ A
♥ 3
♦ —
♣ —
West East
♠ K J ♠ 5 4
♥ — ♥ Q
♦ Q ♦ —
♣ — ♣ —
South
♠ Q
♥ 2
♦ —
♣ ALead the ♣A. West has to pitch. Throw a spade? You win the ♠Q and ♠A. Throw the ♦Q? Your ♥3 is good after you cash the ♥2.
Notice the structure: You have winners on both sides of the squeezed opponent. The ♠Q is in your hand (behind West), and the ♥3 is in dummy (in front of West). This matters.
The Vienna Coup: Setting Up the Squeeze
Sometimes your menace cards aren’t quite ready to work. You’ve got the ♥Q, but you still have the ♥A too. The problem? If you run your squeeze card, the opponent pitches a heart, and you can’t tell if your ♥Q is good because the ace is blocking the position.
The Vienna Coup fixes this. You deliberately cash your ace early to get it out of the way.
Full deal:
North
♠ A 7 6
♥ K 7 2
♦ A 5 4
♣ A 8 6 3
West East
♠ K J 10 ♠ 9 8 5
♥ 8 6 ♥ 10 9 5 4
♦ Q J 10 9 ♦ 8 7 2
♣ Q J 10 5 ♣ 9 7 2
South
♠ Q 4 3 2
♥ A Q J 3
♦ K 6 3
♣ K 4You’re in 6NT. West leads the ♦Q. You count 11 top tricks: one spade, four hearts, three diamonds, three clubs. You need one more.
If spades split 3-3, you’re home. But they don’t. West has the ♠KJ10, and when you test spades, they don’t break.
Here’s where the Vienna Coup comes in. Cash your ♥A (the Vienna Coup), then run your minor suit winners. The ending looks like this:
North
♠ A
♥ K
♦ —
♣ —
West East
♠ K J ♠ 9
♥ 8 ♥ 10
♦ — ♦ —
♣ — ♣ —
South
♠ Q
♥ Q
♦ —
♣ 4You lead the ♣4. West can’t hold both spades and hearts. If they pitch a spade, your ♠Q and ♠A score. If they pitch the ♥8, your ♥Q is good, and you still have the ♥K for entry.
The key was cashing the ♥A early. If you hadn’t, you’d reach this position with ♥AQ in your hand, and when West pitched a heart, you couldn’t make use of dummy’s ♥K.
Recognizing Squeeze Potential
During bidding: High-level contracts that fall one trick short are squeeze candidates. You have 11 tricks in 6NT? That 12th might come from a squeeze.
During play: Count your tricks. Exactly one short is perfect squeeze territory. Two short means you need both opponents squeezed, which is much harder.
Watch the opponents. If one defender guards two suits, you’ve got a victim. Defenders shifting suits frequently might worry about a squeeze.
The rule: You want to be down to three cards for a two-suit squeeze. Cash your winners until you reach that point, then fire the squeeze card.
Four Squeeze Hands You Should Know
Example 1: Basic Simple Squeeze
North
♠ K 4
♥ A 7 5 2
♦ A J 10
♣ A 8 6 3
West East
♠ J 10 9 7 ♠ 8 6 5 3
♥ Q J 10 ♥ 9 6
♦ K 8 7 ♦ 6 5 4 3
♣ J 10 5 ♣ Q 9 2
South
♠ A Q 2
♥ K 8 4 3
♦ Q 9 2
♣ K 7 4You’re in 6NT. West leads the ♠J. You count 11 tricks.
Win the spade, cash hearts. They’re 4-2. Run your remaining spade and clubs. West guards the ♦K and fourth heart. Your last club squeezes them. Pitch a heart? Your fourth heart wins. Pitch the diamond? The ♦Q scores.
Example 2: Automatic Squeeze
North
♠ A Q 6
♥ 9 8 7
♦ A K 4
♣ A 7 6 3
West East
♠ 10 9 8 7 ♠ 5 4
♥ K 5 4 ♥ Q J 10 6
♦ Q 10 8 ♦ 9 7 6 5
♣ Q 10 5 ♣ J 9 2
South
♠ K J 3 2
♥ A 3 2
♦ J 3 2
♣ K 8 4You’re in 6NT with 11 tricks. The heart finesse loses.
Cash spades, clubs, and diamonds down to three cards. Lead your last diamond. Whoever holds the ♦Q is squeezed in hearts and diamonds. This is automatic because it works against either opponent.
Example 3: Guarding Against the Wrong Squeeze
North
♠ A 10 4
♥ K J 6
♦ A Q J
♣ K 9 6 3
West East
♠ 8 7 6 ♠ Q J 9 5
♥ Q 10 9 5 ♥ 7 4
♦ 10 9 7 ♦ 6 5 4 3
♣ Q 10 8 ♣ J 7 2
South
♠ K 3 2
♥ A 8 3 2
♦ K 8 2
♣ A 5 4Contract: 6NT by South. Lead: ♠8.
You have 11 tricks again. The spade finesse loses, and hearts are 4-2.
Here’s the trap: If you cash all your diamonds and clubs too early, West can safely pitch spades (East has them guarded) and hearts (they have length). You’ve got no squeeze.
Instead, keep a spade threat alive. Win the ♠A, cross to hand, cash the ♥A and ♥K (Vienna Coup), then run diamonds and clubs, keeping ♠K and ♠10 in your hand and dummy.
Actually, looking at this hand again, there’s no squeeze here as the cards lie. Let me create a better example:
Example 3: Positional Squeeze
North
♠ A 10
♥ K 8 7
♦ A Q J 4
♣ A 8 6 3
West East
♠ Q J 9 ♠ 8 7 6 5
♥ Q J 10 5 ♥ 9 6
♦ 10 9 7 ♦ 6 5 3
♣ Q 10 5 ♣ J 9 7 2
South
♠ K 4 3 2
♥ A 4 3 2
♦ K 8 2
♣ K 4Contract: 6NT. You have 11 tricks. Spades don’t split.
Cash ♥A and ♥K (Vienna Coup), then run diamonds and clubs. West guards spades and hearts. When you cash your last winner, they’re squeezed.
Example 4: Squeeze Without the Count
North
♠ 7 6 5
♥ A K 5
♦ K Q J 10
♣ A 7 3
West East
♠ K Q J ♠ 10 9 8 4
♥ 10 9 8 ♥ 7 6 4
♦ 9 8 7 ♦ 6 5 4
♣ Q J 10 9 ♣ 8 6 2
South
♠ A 3 2
♥ Q J 3 2
♦ A 3 2
♣ K 5 4You’re in 3NT. West leads the ♣Q. You have only eight tricks.
Win the ♣A, cash four diamonds. West must keep clubs and spades. Eventually they have to let spades go. Your ♠A scores the ninth trick.
This is a “squeeze without the count” because you’re more than one trick short initially. It works because West has to guard spades alone while East can’t help.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Squeeze
Releasing the menace too early: You pitch a heart from dummy because you “don’t need it,” then realize that was the card that would have won. Keep your menaces.
Wrong order of plays: Cash the squeeze card too early and the opponent has pitching room. They’re not squeezed yet. Count your cards.
No entry to the menace: Your ♥Q becomes good when the opponent pitches their king, but you already cashed all your entries. Plan ahead.
Pitching from the wrong hand: When the squeeze card is led, you have to pitch from the right hand. Pitch wrong and you discard your own menace or entry.
Playing for a squeeze when you have your tricks: Count your winners. If you already have enough, don’t get fancy. Claim.
Choosing a squeeze over a better line: A 50% finesse beats a squeeze that needs specific cards with one defender. Squeezes are elegant, but percentages matter.
When to Play for a Squeeze vs. Other Options
Play for the squeeze when:
- You’re exactly one trick short
- Other lines have failed or won’t work
- One opponent likely holds both key suits
- Running winners costs you nothing
Skip the squeeze when:
- A finesse or suit establishment is better percentage
- You’re two tricks short (need exotic double squeezes)
- You can’t identify who gets squeezed
- Running winners kills entries for a different line
Practical rule: If cashing winners costs nothing, do it. Squeezes happen automatically when the cards are right. But when choosing between a finesse and a squeeze, do the math.
The Bottom Line
Squeezes aren’t magic. They’re patterns. One opponent guards two suits, you run winners, they crack.
Learn to spot the three elements: squeeze card, menaces, entries. Practice the Vienna Coup (cashing blocking winners early). Count your tricks and recognize when you’re exactly one short.
Most of all, don’t overthink it at the table. Run your winners when you have nothing better to do. If a squeeze is there, it’ll happen. If not, you weren’t making it anyway.
The beauty of squeezes is that they turn “one trick short” into “contract made.” That’s a pretty good return for understanding the basic patterns.